La Vie En Rose
by LadyGwenMidas
Summary: If you liked Day One, then you will definitely love this. It's a new story, Jack/Gwen of course and just two words: 'alien hormones'. Owen, Tosh and Ianto must keep Jack and Gwen from doing something they might later regret... *on hiatus-soz be bac soon*
1. Prologue

**So...I've had this idea for a while now and since I have been with fanfiction for one year today I thought, why not? Enjoy:)**

"So how big is this object meant to be then?" asked Gwen tiredly as they pulled up outside a backstreet alley.

"It's not exactly a thing. Tosh couldn't identify it. All we know is its location and that it's alien" said Jack.

"Brilliant" Gwen muttered, as they walked down the dark alley. "Then how the hell are we suppose to find it" she said.

"With its location" said Jack slowly.

"I can't believe you did that!" Gwen shouted suddenly and stopped walking to face him.

"Did what? What's wrong Gwen" he asked coolly.

"You are what's wrong" she shouted. "You could have taken any one of the others but you had to call me!"

"That's enough Gwen!" Jack said forcefully. "I don't care if you and Rhys are fighting; you leave the domestics at home" he ordered and continued walking.

"We wouldn't be fighting if it weren't for you" she retorted.

"I didn't make you come Gwen. It's impossible for anyone to make _you_ do something you don't want to" he said.

Gwen laughed. "And what would you have done if I'd refused?"

"But you didn't" said Jack.

"If I had though" Gwen pushed.

Jack sighed and turned to face her. "I don't know. You've never actually said no to me before" he replied. "Except that one time of course when you unleashed Abaddon and I held a gun to your head, but that will _never_ happen again Gwen…I won't allow it to" he said surely and continued on down the alley.

They were both quiet after that, until Gwen muttered "I hate you sometimes."

Jack turned back to face her where she stood, trying to hide the hurt that her statement had caused him. "That's not my problem" he said coldly and walked away from her.

Frustrated and confused, Gwen pulled herself together before following him. She didn't understand what was happening between them these past few weeks. She was trying so hard to live the life he wanted for her, while he seemed to be doing everything he could to take it away from her. He was bitter and distant, except when it came to rounding up weevils or following up leads outside the Hub when she was the first person he called. She had tried talking to him about it, staying back late when everyone else had gone…but he just wouldn't open up to her. After a while, all the hurt and frustration had simply turned into anger. She was through trying to understand him, done with feeling guilty all the time. But he was right about one thing, and that was she would always come when he called.

They walked separately down the alley until they reached a dead end. It began to rain…thick, misty and sticky rain, which felt unusual but just as annoying.

"I wasn't aware it would rain tonight" said Gwen, reverting back into meaningless small talk and pent-up aversion.

Jack's wrist strap began to beep. "It's here" he said absently, and starting searching through the piles of discarded junk.

Gwen mimicked his actions and began searching opposite him.

Within minutes they became completely drenched by the rain, which stuck to their skin like a thick liquid coat.

Somehow, Gwen felt relaxed by the rain, and soon realised that all her loathing of Jack was starting to dissipate. In fact, she really didn't hate Jack at all…and she never had. She would come every time he called because…

"Gwen" Jack whispered from close behind her.

She jumped as she felt his hands gently moving her wet hair from her neck, and thought that he must have had similar thoughts as his lips began to caress her skin. It was so sudden…so incomprehensible, but it was so right. She couldn't get Jack out of her mind, she was crazy about him!

Suddenly Jack violently turned Gwen around in his arms and sculpted his lips to hers. Her mouth opened and she moaned appreciatively…and didn't matter that it was wrong, that they were at work or that Ianto was at the Hub waiting for him...none of these things even penetrated his mind. All that he could see was Gwen and he knew that if she was taken from him, that he would surely die.


	2. Tension

**I should have mentioned before, the story is set after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang but before Meat.**

"Did you try their comms again?" asked Owen impatiently for the third time in ten minutes.

"Yes Owen" replied Tosh exasperated. "And their mobiles, but they're not responding."

"Perhaps we should go find them" suggested Ianto.

"Honestly, what is with you two? They've barely been gone half an hour and you want to send out the search party" said Tosh.

"Well sorry that I actually have a life outside of work Tosh" Owen replied angrily. "I was meant to be going on a date tonight" he muttered.

"Well why don't you just go?" Ianto offered. "I'm sure we'll get by without you."

"Because, Tea Boy, I have orders to stay here until Jack gets back. Otherwise I wouldn't still be here!" he shouted.

"I don't want to be here anymore than you do Owen" said Tosh. "They'll be here soon, it probably just took them a while to find the damn thing" she assumed.

"What I don't get is that monitor stopped flashing about twenty minutes ago" Owen observed. "Does that mean they found it or what?"

"Well I think we're just about to find out" said Ianto as they heard cog door roll back.

"Finally" Owen muttered as he saw Jack walk in and take off his coat. "Oh shit, he brought Gwen back with him" he said to Tosh and Ianto.

"I didn't realise you two were fighting?" said Ianto.

"Don't you get it? She wouldn't have come back unless there's more work to be done" said Owen.

"Or maybe she's injured?" suggested Tosh.

"Either way…we won't be leaving anytime soon" said Owen grudgingly.

"She looks alright to me" said Ianto.

"Oi you bastard" Owen shouted at Jack.

"Owen!" Tosh whispered harshly.

"What was the hold up? Some of us have got things to do" said Owen sharply.

Jack glanced in his direction and finished his conversation with Gwen before walking over to them.

"Jack, what happened? What was it?" Tosh asked anxiously, pretending not to notice that they were indiscreetly holding hands.

"Nothing to report" Jack said confidently. "Must have been a false alarm."

"You're arr…dripping" Ianto observed.

"It was raining" said Jack.

"That's odd…" said Tosh. "The weather report said tonight would be fine."

"And when is the weather report ever right?" Owen muttered.

"I'll run a scan just to be sure" said Tosh mostly to herself. "Check the weather patterns for the last hour. There must have been something in that area..."

"What are you doing back here then?" Owen asked Gwen.

Gwen hesitated as she thought of a way to explain…

"I asked her to come back" Jack filled in for her.

"Jack, there isn't anything more to be done tonight…" Tosh began. "You should let Gwen go home". Gwen had been working harder than anyone lately. Tosh figured that it was partly because she was trying to prove her worth, but she had also noticed that Jack had placed a lot more work on her shoulders since his return, and she didn't think that Gwen was handling it well. She had confided in her that she was worried Rhys wouldn't want to marry her anymore. Gwen wouldn't have blamed him for having second thoughts either. She hated what she was doing to him, but she didn't want to let Jack down.

"Thanks Tosh, but I'm fine, really" said Gwen. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep, you look exhausted."

"Sure…right after I've done this scan" said Tosh. _Is she trying to get rid of me?_ She gave Owen a concerned glance which he returned.

"Gwen…" Owen began. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just fine thanks" she replied.

"Wedding plans aren't stressing you out or anything?"

"Owen, she's fine" said Jack abruptly. "There's nothing to worry about tonight. You can all go home. Unless you want me to find some work for you to do Owen?" said Jack to deter him.

"If you've got anything…" Owen began. "Yeah I might stick around." He noticed that Tosh had stopped tapping at her keyboard and when he looked in her direction again she was tense and nervously staring at Jack and Gwen. "Actually…there's an experiment I was conducting in the med bay. Tosh? Would you mind taking a look for me?" he asked, and headed down the stairs with Tosh before there were any objections from Jack.

"What is it?" Owen asked when they were out of hearing distance.

"Um…the weather program I set up last year so that we could use it to track down the um…" she looked up and realised that Owen was glaring at her. "Anyways, it's designed to show changing patterns in the weather and pinpoint unusual activity. It's never failed, until now" she said anxiously. Owen gestured for her to continue. "What I'm saying is…I don't think Jack and Gwen are wet from the rain" she whispered.

"But why would they lie?" Owen asked.

"I don't know, but something happened in that alleyway. You'll have to get a sample from them before…" she paused.

"What?" Owen asked.

"Does the Hub seem quieter to you?" she asked.

"Shit."


	3. Inappropriate Conduct

Owen and Tosh ran back up stairs to find the Hub empty apart from Ianto, who could almost be mistaken for a statue by the way he was standing so rigidly. Jack and Gwen were out of sight.

"Ianto, where are they?" Owen shouted at the living statue.

"Wherever they are…they're together" he replied enviously.

"We don't know that Ianto" Tosh said reassuringly. "We think something happened in that alleyway. They're not themselves, which is why we have to find them before-"

"Did you see which direction they went?" Owen interrupted.

"Yeah" said Ianto, slowly turning to face him. "They went down there" he said pointing to the stairs behind Owen.

Owen instantly followed after them. The plan was to find them first. What happened afterwards or where he was heading did not even occur to him, as he tactlessly headed down towards the showers…

Owen hadn't realised that the trail he'd been following had grown exceptionally hot. For now, discarded clothing lay at his feet. He picked up Gwen's leather jacket. There was enough residue on it for him to get a decent sample.

"Tosh, I can't go any further" he said into his comm. "We'll have to try something else. Can you call them over the loudspeaker?" he said quickly. Call him sentimental, but he didn't want to have to explain the situation when he knew undoubtedly that Ianto would be listening.

"And say what?" Tosh asked unsure.

"I don't know…something that will scare them. The truth if you like. We need to get them upstairs now" he replied firmly.

"Here goes nothing" Tosh muttered to herself as Ianto listened quietly. "Jack, we need you and Gwen to come to the med bay now" she said over the speaker, making her voice sound fearful and urgent. "We think you've both been infected by some kind of toxin…and we need to get it out of your system before…" dramatic pause. "Before it's too late" she ended steadily. It had always made her worry more when a doctor would act cool, calm and collected instead of troubled, which she found they would only do when something was terribly wrong.

"Well that would have got my attention" said Owen as he walked past Tosh and down to the med bay.

Tosh and Ianto followed him. "What's that?" asked Ianto.

"Arr…nothing. Just a jacket" he mumbled distractedly.

"Wait, isn't that Gwen's jacket?" asked Tosh thoughtlessly.

Owen sighed. "I should be able to get a good enough sample from it" he muttered.

"So you saw them then?" asked Ianto.

"Not exactly…" Owen replied trailing off. "Look, we should know what this stuff is in less than an hour. Why don't you go and entertain them until then?" he said directly to Ianto.

"What? And just pretend that everything's alright?" Ianto shot back.

"Yes. That's exactly what I expect you to do" Owen replied with unintentional sarcasm.

"Owen's right Ianto" said Tosh. "There's no point jumping to conclusions until we know the facts."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack and Gwen had shredded their last layers of clothing and turned on the hot water. Gwen's exposed flesh burned under the warm water and it was then she realised how cold she really was. Jack refused to drag his mouth away from hers for no more than seconds, and it was becoming increasingly hard to breath. His hands roamed every crevasse of her body, which was on fire beneath his touch. But it wasn't enough. She ached for him to be inside of her. She was cold…so very cold.

"Jack" she gasped into his lips.

He picked her up and her legs wrapped around his waist as he slammed her back against the tiled wall so hard that parts of it shattered and fell to the floor.

Gwen gasped at the painful sensation that ran through her. She pulled Jack's face away from hers and his attentions moved to her breasts. "Jack" she gasped again. "I need you inside me, now" she said forcefully.

Just as Jack was about to comply a panicked voice over the speakers interrupted him, and despite Gwen's willingness…his instincts told him to listen. After Tosh's announcement he reluctantly put Gwen down. As he did so her feet buckled beneath her, and he caught her just before she fell. She let out a cry of pure agony. Jack looked back at the wall that was now cracked and broken. When he had set her on her feet, he had painted the wall red with her blood. Shock and remorse overcame him. He could not accept that her pain was his doing, that his conduct had been so…maybe Tosh was right, he thought for a moment. Maybe he was infected. Even with such an excuse, his conduct was unforgivable.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't long before Jack and Gwen appeared in the main area of the Hub. They were still, or rather once again wearing their 'wet' clothes (minus a jacket), but their intentions for surfacing were somewhat compromised. Gwen was wearing what looked like Jack's white singlet shirt, which made he wounds apparent at once. No questions asked, they helped Gwen down to the med bay and Owen cleaned up her back, occasionally removing ceramic shards. As he was finishing the bandages on Gwen's back, a piece of equipment in the room started to beep. Tosh went to investigate and eventually Owen joined her.

"What is it?" asked Jack, who had not left Gwen's side.

"You'll know as soon as we do" said Owen arrogantly.

"Is it about the toxins?" Jack asked next.

Owen and Tosh looked at him curiously. They hadn't expected him to be so attentive, not to anyone apart from Gwen that is.

"Yes" Tosh replied. "How do feel?" she asked cautiously, trying to avoid sounding like a shrink.

"Like I've been acting completely irresponsible and regretful because I've hurt the only woman I will ever love" he replied. A confused expression crossed his face. His words sounded unfamiliar even to him.

"That's definitely not something Jack would say" Owen muttered to Tosh.

Tosh ignored him. "Do you think that maybe…the way you're behaving isn't you?" Tosh asked.

"I don't know…maybe. All I know is that I love Gwen" he replied and looked at Gwen who was still lying on her stomach watching him. "I do, I love you" he said.

"And that's about all the sense we're gonna get out of him" Owen announced.

"You should both go upstairs and wait on the couch. We shouldn't be much longer" said Tosh kindly.

"Yeah and try not to hurt Gwen ay Jack? I've got enough work to do" Owen called after them.

"Ianto, are you alright?" Tosh asked. He had been sitting quietly on the stairs throughout.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks Tosh. I know it's not really Jack now" he replied optimistically.

"Well then you shouldn't have a problem babysitting for us then will you?" Owen said callously.

Ianto quietly obeyed and left to make them some coffee.

"This is dangerous" Tosh whispered.

"No it's not, it's just testing" Owen replied lightly.

"No not that" said Tosh. "I mean…them. He's already hurt her once. Normally that would be enough to deter him, but it's going to keep happening. More than that, I think it's going to get worse."

"There's no point in making assumptions until we know the facts Tosh. Everything will be fine" he replied.

_Now who's making assumptions_, Tosh thought. "I hope you're right."

**Sorry if that sounded a bit off. I've been watching Jane Austen a lot lately. I once started writing a chapter for Three's Company I think that sounded like Gone With The Wind (one of my favs), but thankfully I decided to take that day off ;)**

**Please review, much love and Happy Easter******


	4. Cause and Effect

"Well, what is it?" Tosh asked impatiently. The test had finally completed, however Owen had yet to make any course of action. He'd been staring at the list of compounds for God knows how long, and until now shushing her whenever she made an effort to speak. If she thought his inaction was serving any purpose at all, she might have had the patience to just let him work.

"That's it!" he shouted, startling Tosh with his sudden movement. "I'm buggered if I know what any of these are," he said, pointing out the compounds for Tosh, "but that one there! I knew I'd seen it before. Best thing that ever fell through the rift. Well I assume that's how it got here. It was before-"

Abruptly, Tosh clamped her hand over his trap and, with an enormous amount of self-control whispered, "Just. Tell. Me. What. It. Is."

Once Owen had started breathing again, he rolled his eyes and Tosh removed her hand. "It's the main compound found in the alien hormone substance."

Tosh thought for a moment. "So how long will it take to wear off?"

"No, I don't think it's the same."

"But you just said-"

"I can match _one _compound to the hormone spray we have in the Hub. You'll have to ask Jack where it is by the way. What I took off Gwen's jacket has at least seven other compounds I've never seen before," he explained curtly. "Besides, they're talking about love. Our substance makes a person feel lust, not love."

"How do you know what it makes a person feel? I thought it only affected what the victim felt. I doubt you would have tried it if you thought it would affect _your_ emotions," Tosh stated.

"Victim's a strong word." What could he say? She had a point.

"And Jack and Gwen were drenched in the stuff," she continued. "It is possible that it will have the same effect, and that way we could predict what will happen. But more importantly, why did this happen? The formula has been here longer than I have, which means the only person who might know where it came from is Jack. I mean are we really going to assume that it fell freestyle through the rift and happened to fall on Jack and Gwen?"

"Alright then, since we have the formula which may _or_ may not be affecting Jack and Gwen, I say we conduct a little experiment," said Owen.

"We don't have time for experiments," said Tosh in frustration, not registering the intent behind the words.

"But if we know how it works, Tosh, then we'll either be able to predict the effect it will have, or we'll know that it's a different substance."

"So what you're saying is, either the team will lose another two members to hormones, or it will be a pointless waste of time," Tosh said bleakly.

"Didn't you want to know how they feel?" Owen asked persuasively.

Tosh studied him suspiciously. He wasn't really suggesting that…"No!" Tosh shrieked, "Absolutely no way." On the other hand…"You're the one who wants to conduct the experiment, why don't you do it?"

"Forget it then" Owen said abruptly.

"At least they both feel the same way," she stated wearily, her thoughts drifting to the sound of Gwen's laughter.

He wasn't going to humiliate himself, and he could understand that Tosh would feel the same way.

Tosh noticed the disappointment on his face, it mirrored her own. "If it's that important to you," she began, "I'll do it, but _only _if you do it too."

Owen thought about her offer. It would be far less embarrassing, and after all, they were only in it for the science. "I think Ianto knows where Jack hid it. We'll need him on standby in case things get too out of hand. I think you should go and explain things to the lovebirds first. I doubt they'll listen, but it will sound better coming from you."

"Sure," said Tosh, discreetly hiding a blush. They both knew what was coming, and yet they would be the ones to cause it.

"I'll meet you in Jack's office."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Is he still watching us?" Jack whispered.

"No, I think he's gone," Gwen replied.

Jack lunged himself at Gwen and kissed her quickly and eagerly. "Good. I don't think I could wait another minute," he said as he slid Gwen beneath him on the couch.

Gwen giggled. "I think the substance Tosh was talking about must be affecting my mood," she said as Jack moved away from her mouth.

"Why? How do you feel?" Jack asked. "Horny?"

Gwen laughed. "Always," she admitted teasingly. "But I can't remember the last time I felt this happy."

"I guess Tosh was wrong," said Jack. "It can't be a bad thing after all."

As Jack made for her mouth again, she quickly rolled them over so that she was on top. The end result, however, left them on the floor, and they both started laughing manically.

"Jack," Gwen whispered intensely once the laughter had subsided. "Let's get out of here."

"Tosh said we have to stay here or else we might infect other people" said Jack.

"But they haven't been infected," she argued. "Besides, I thought that you were the boss, not Tosh" she said spitefully. "We know there's nothing wrong with us, they're just jealous. I'm not getting caught again. I need to be with you, Jack," she pleaded.

"Where will we go?"

"We can go to my place," she offered.

"What about Rhys?"

Suddenly, Gwen slapped him harshly in the face. "You promised you wouldn't say his name!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'll take you to a hotel then. We'll take the SUV so they won't be able to follow us."

They got up off the floor and hurried quietly to the cog door, which luckily for them had been left open. The others weren't far, but with their flawless plan they were positive that they wouldn't be found.


	5. Speculations and Tough Love

**This chapter's very long, and I'll warn you now that it's a little sadistic, but if you stick with it I can promise there will be a happy ending:) Please review xox**

"Anything?" Owen asked.

What was she meant to feel? Love, attraction…it was oblivious only to Owen that she felt those emotions for him. She wanted so badly to just tell him! But she knew that now was definitely not that time. He would assume that the hormones were simply doing their job, and then there would be all the confusion of why it effected Tosh and not himself. Did it only affect women? Was Jack pretending to be as in love with Gwen as she was with him? And the whole thing would turn into one gigantic mess just by saying those three small words. Owen clearly wasn't reacting to the substance, which reinforced that her feelings were merely hers and hers alone. The disappointment she felt was excruciating.

"Nothing," she replied. "You were right, it must be a different substance."

"So were you," he admitted. "It was a pointless waste of time. Ianto, is that really necessary?"

Ianto replied, only his response was muffled by the gas mask he held firmly to his face.

"He's right," said Tosh, agreeing with Ianto, "The substance must only have an effect on the non-user."

Ianto grinned widely at Owen and left the room. When he returned, he had a spray can full of water that they used to water the plants. He sprayed Owen three times in the face…

"What the f-"

…and then Tosh, handing them both a towel. Once they had wiped their faces, Ianto removed the mask. Nothing happened.

"How did you know that would work?" asked Tosh.

"I didn't," he replied. "Hence, I'm standing closer to you."

"Didn't you say they had gone down to the showers after they arrived?" Tosh asked Owen.

"You're not suggesting they're pretending, are you?" Owen asked quietly.

"Of course they're not pretending!" Ianto shouted.

"No, that's not what I meant!" said Tosh desperately.

"Ianto, you should go check on them. God knows what…" Owen trailed off. Ianto left quietly and Owen took Tosh aside. "There are other ways it could get in their systems, Tosh," he explained gently. "You've seen them, they can't be without each other. They could have digested it or anything. It could have entered the blood system somehow. We know now that it's different, which means that we really don't know anything. If we were to separate them, we could be causing them physical pain, and yet if we do nothing, they could really hurt each other."

"What do we do?" she whispered, trying to focus on anything but his hands on her arms, his face only two inches from hers…

"They're gone!" Ianto shouted from below.

"Did you check the Hub's internal scan?" called Owen.

"Doing it now," replied Tosh, already at her workstation. "No, nothing. They've definitely gone."

"Well did you tell them what we discussed?" Owen asked hesitantly.

"The thing about them being infectious? Of course I did," she snapped. "Now, thanks to your experiment, we have no idea where they are."

"No, wrong, we can track them," said Ianto.

"How?" asked Owen.

"The SUV is gone," he replied.

"What?" Tosh asked cynically.

"But they know we can track it. Why the hell would they take the SUV?"

"Honestly, I think the hormones have lower their IQs," said Ianto.

"Ok, we can't speculate on this anymore," Tosh began, claiming authority over the situation. "We know that they aren't themselves so our goal is clear: keep them apart. Eventually, whatever it is that's affecting them will hopefully wear off. Agreed?"

Ianto nodded contently. "I'll go get my car. The SUV is parked not far from here."

"Can you tell where?" asked Tosh.

"Looks like…a hotel," he replied dejectedly.

"Better not waste any time then."

"Tosh, I'm not arguing with you or anything, but physically I agree they should be kept apart, but emotionally I think-"

"Owen, I know," Tosh interrupted, "But right now I don't think they've gone to a hotel to share their feelings, do you? We'll discuss it when we get back." Owen nodded, grabbed his medical kit and headed out after Ianto. _What, that's it? _She thought. What the hell was she doing? Tosh followed the men out with her equipment. She would check the Hub CCTV on the way, and pray to God that they weren't too late…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack threw Gwen roughly onto the bed. He stood at the base, watching her smiling at him, his eyes never leaving hers as he removed his coat and pulled down his suspenders.

Gwen watched intently as his eyes clouded over with carnal desire. His expression almost instantly turning from playful into one of seriousness as he studied her perfect figure. For a moment she thought she saw aggression there also, but it was quickly replaced by whatever fantasy he was replaying over in his mind. She couldn't stop smiling, even though she was furious with him for making her wait like this.

Jack slipped off his shoes and had begun to unbutton his shirt when he thought, what was he doing? Ever since the alleyway earlier that night it was like he had a permanent hard-on, and here he was, wasting the short time they had together. There were so many things he wanted to do to her, and there she was flesh-and-blood. She looked so happy and innocent, it made him want to take it all away from her and make her feel the guilt she deserved. "No!" he shouted.

"Jack, are you alright?"

She looked concerned. "Yeah, fine," he replied feeling exhausted. Where the hell had that thought come from? Never in all his life had he felt such strong sadistic thoughts, and towards Gwen! He would _never _hurt Gwen.

"The bed's getting cold over here," she said huskily, trying to lure him to her like the slut she was. "You sure you're ok?"

"I said I'm fine!" he yelled harshly.

At that moment, Gwen's phone rang. She pulled it out from her pocket to see who was calling. "It's Owen," she said.

"Don't answer it," Jack ordered, moving to the bed.

Gwen cancelled the call and checked her messages. "I've got seven missed calls from Rhys, too," she mumbled mostly to herself.

Jack snatched the phone from her hands and threw it across the room. It hit the bathroom door and smashed into one hundred pieces.

"What did you do-"

Jack clamped his hand roughly over her mouth. "Shut-up," he whispered strictly, and began unzipping her jeans. Jealousy and rage overcame him, clouded his judgement completely. "What am I to you, huh? Just another mindless fuck like Owen! Or the sorry bastard you lie to while you're off screwing other men. How am I meant to trust you? So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to break you down, make you just weak enough so that you'll need me, beg me to stay with you; the whore who fools every man into thinking she's in love with him." He moved his moist hand from her mouth and pulled down his trousers.

"But I do love you, Jack," Gwen cried.

"I said, shut-up!" he shouted, and raised his right hand over his left shoulder. Not even one second after he had spoken, and his hand came down with a loud smack over Gwen's right cheek.

Gwen lay with her head on the side, sobbing quietly, but violently enough that her whole body shook beneath him. For a long while, he didn't move, he couldn't. Once he had realised what he had done... the one thing he couldn't do, and would never even imagine, to the one person he cared most for…everything simply stopped. He was frozen. His heart felt as if it had stopped beating and he couldn't breathe. What had he done? Slowly, he released her, letting go of his unbreakable hold on her wrists and moving his thighs from their tight hold around her waist. He got off the bed and backed away from woman he had broken, unable to look away, until his back came in contact with the wall and he helplessly fell to his knees. He could remember everything…kissing her in the rain, holding her in the showers…the others talking about alien hormones and Tosh questioning him about his behaviour. Gwen was still sobbing and he yearned to soothe her, even though he knew he couldn't. He swore that he would never go near her again.

"Jack," Gwen sobbed. "Jack, where are you, I need you. Jack."

He couldn't understand her. Didn't she not know what he had just done? Affected or unaffected? And yet she still called for him.

He stood up quietly and walked forwards. "I'm here," he replied softly. She was still facing away from him, and yet her hand reached for him, blindly in the darkness. She looked as if she was in terrible pain, beyond his causing, but perhaps within his power to cure. _It must be the substance causing it_, he thought. _I can't leave her in pain_. He walked closer and took her hand in his. He couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Everything is ok now, you're safe. I'll never hurt you again."

He let go of her hand gently and walked around to the other side of the bed where she was curled up on her side. He sat down on the end of the bed and very carefully removed her shoes. Then, somehow, he managed to pull the blankets down from under her and tucked her carefully into bed, kissing her forehead softly. As he pulled away, his eyes were drawn to her face. Her cheek was swelling where he…where he'd hit her. Jack quickly withdrew and sat on the other side of the bed facing away from her.

She felt him sit down on the other side of the bed and smiled. Hesitantly, she rolled over, knowing that he would feel her move. He had his back to her. She slowly reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. His whole body slumped and he let out a sigh. "Please, hold me," she whispered shakily.

Jack stood up and turned around. Gwen was already holding the blankets back for him to climb in. She had a small smile on her face. Jack smiled back shyly and climbed in. Gwen clung to him instantly, burying her head in his shirt and smelling it. He slowly put his arms around her and absently began to stroke her hair.

"You don't love me anymore, do you?" she asked.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, but it didn't stop the tears that bled from them. He gently lifted her head so that he could look into her eyes when he told her the truth.

"I will always love you," he said sternly, his voice breaking with emotion.

Gwen beamed at him with her gorgeous green eyes. No sadness, no pain, just beauty and innocence.

Jack caressed her left cheek and smiled back at her, even though he was certain that his eyes would betray him. She continued to stare at him, showing no sign of breaking eye contact. Jack eventually worked out why, but the real question was would he?

Jack found himself subconsciously moving his head closer to hers, and before he realised what he was doing, Gwen had already closed the distance between them.

He kissed her softly at first, and then more heatedly as Gwen pulled him closer to her. He's almost forgotten what it felt like, affected or not, once he started kissing Gwen it was nearly impossible to stop.

"Open the door, Jack!" he heard Owen shouting from across the room and beating his fist on the door. He pulled out of the kiss immediately and told Gwen to wait there. "We know you're in there. Don't make me shoot the door, 'cause you know I will!" he threatened.

Jack quickly rushed to the door and opened it. Owen and Tosh seemed surprised at first, and then quickly pushed passed him and into the room.

"I think we're too late," said Tosh, running to Gwen's side.

Owen walked back over to Jack and punched him hard in the face. He fell over and Owen waited, expecting him, or aiming for his blow to knock him unconscious. When Jack stayed down, but didn't pass out he said, "You bastard." What he didn't expected, was for Jack to bury his bloody face in his hands and start crying hysterically like a child.

"I know!" he replied angrily.

"Tosh, how's Gwen?" Owen asked.

"Her face is bruised, but she seems fine. Still fully clothed," she said, sounding relieved. "We'll question her once we get them back to the Hub."


	6. Confrontations

"I told the others that the substance wasn't affecting you anymore," said Ianto from the doorway. Jack was facing away from him, sitting on the floor against the side of his desk. He turned his head to the side, enough that Ianto could see the tear stains on his face, but not enough that he had to face him.

"And why would you do that?" he asked bleakly.

"I'm right, aren't I?" said Ianto, entering the room. He knelt down in front of him. "Why didn't you just say?"

Jack glared at him painfully. "I don't want their forgiveness. I deserve everything I get."

"And her forgiveness?" Ianto asked hesitantly.

Jack's face turned red as he fought the urge to scream out his emotions. As the oxygen became almost completely severed from his lungs, he gave in once more, and Ianto was there to comfort him.

"How did you know?" Jack asked, completely drained.

"Only you would punish yourself like this," Ianto replied. "I always knew there was a deeper side to you. It's just a shame it took Gwen to make me see it."

"I'm sorry, Ianto."

"Love, Jack, is not something to feel sorry for."

"No, I didn't mean-"

"You love Gwen?" Ianto finished.

"I didn't know what I was talking about!" Jack shouted.

"If you were using reason, you would have accepted that what you did wasn't your fault. You wouldn't be feeling all this regret," said Ianto.

"So you think she'll just forgive me like that?" he retorted, clicking his fingers.

"Why not? She didn't look too upset to me."

"That's because she's being ridiculous," he replied.

"Is that what you're going to tell her once she's better?"

"I won't have to, 'cause she's not going to forgive me."

"She would if you asked her."

"Which Gwen are you talking about? The one I was arguing with last night? Or the one who sees life through rose-coloured glass?"

Ianto sighed in disappointment and walked away. He stopped in the doorway and turned to say one last thing. "I'll tell the others I was wrong. The substance was never affecting you. Just because it was rosy, doesn't mean you weren't seeing clearly."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He's going to kill me," said Owen slowly. He'd tried to knock out his boss when there was nothing wrong with him.

"No, he won't, Owen," said Tosh, unaware that he had been speaking only to himself. "If he didn't want to be punished, then he would have found some way to let us know. It's not your fault."

"Tosh," Owen replied startled. "How'd it go?"

"I think we got there in time, but if you want something more conclusive then you should ask Jack," she responded.

"Then," Owen thought, "what would Jack want to be punished for?" he asked bewildered.

"Well, apparently, that bruise on her face was given to her by Jack."

"You mean, by accident, right? Things just got a bit too rough?"

"No, I don't think so," she replied confidently.

"Well what did Gwen say?"

"She said that she deserved it, but it's ok because he still 'loves' her," Tosh quoted grudging. She hated the fact that there was something out there that could make a woman think like this. "Do you think that, maybe, we should contact Rhys?"

"Probably _not_ a good idea. He won't believe anything we tell him unless he hears it first from Gwen. Why?"

"Um, I couldn't find Gwen's phone. I didn't really have time to check the hotel, but when I asked Gwen she said that Jack broke it," she said resentfully. "He must be worried about her," she thought.

"It shouldn't be much longer now," replied Owen. "If it's worn off Jack then Gwen shouldn't be too far behind."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"Jack?" said Tosh in surprise as he joined them.

"What I mean is, it didn't simply 'wear off'. I snapped out of it when I…and maybe she will too if she talks to Rhys," he said.

Tosh glared at him. "We give her time, first," she said, speaking on Gwen's behalf. "The beating may have snapped you out of it, but it obviously hasn't helped Gwen."

"Tosh," said Owen cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Jack," she said reluctantly.

"It's ok, Tosh. You were right; Rhys had called her more than a few times."

"Did you break her phone?" Owen asked.

Jack nodded. They didn't ask anymore questions after that. No one really knew what to say.

"How did this happen?" Jack whispered to himself.

"We never found out," said Tosh calmly. "Our focus was keeping you two apart."

Jack averted his eyes as if recalling something. "Can I see her?" he asked.

Owen and Tosh looked at each other warily.

"I promise it's for her own good. It was very hard for me, when I was affected, to stay away from her. I was never away from her for long, of course, but when I wasn't…kissing her, it felt…painful."

"How much, exactly, do you remember?" asked Owen sceptically.

"Everything," he whispered.

They exchanged another glance. _I told you so_, Owen thought. _Look at him? We both know he was right, no need to gloat about it_, Tosh thought. _Oh God, Gwen must be in agony right now._ They looked back at Jack.

Owen nodded in approval.

"We gave her a sleeping pill to help her rest," said Tosh, "but she seems to be fighting it. It might be easier for her to relax if you're there."

**Sorry to end it there, my thoughts are a bit all over the place. I was sick today and thought writing might make me feel better, or do I mean reviews? lol. Anyways, if I'm feeling better I'm planning to write the final chapter for Three's Company on Monday. My brother helped me with some ideas cause we didn't get to go to Poley's Place in the hols. Plus I'm not good at writing two things at once. This story isn't going to be as long as the others though. I'm nearly finished school so I need to start focusing more on study, but I'll never give up writing;)**


End file.
